Branson’s challenge: change banking November 17, 2011 FOR a man who built much of his empire on the back of Boeing jumbo jets, it was fitting to see Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin pay out £747m for Northern Rock. George Osborne was right to sell the Rock – there was no guarantee that holding on would have engineered a better deal for the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 17, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES AUCTION OF ICELAND FOODS BESET BY DELAYS The auction of Iceland Foods, the frozen food retailer, is facing unexpected delays, with second-round bids now not expected to be lodged until the new year. Work on second-round bids for Iceland Foods – put on the block in May by its majority Icelandic owners with [...]
US politicians agree to avoid funds shutdown November 17, 2011 The US House of Representatives yesterday found a rare moment of accord in the budget fights that have paralysed Washington this year as lawmakers voted to extend government funding to December. By a vote of 298 to 121, the Republican-controlled House passed a bill that would allow the government to keep running when current funding [...]
Pain in Spain as investors fear its debts November 17, 2011 THE EUROZONE crisis threatened to overwhelm Spain yesterday as the country’s borrowing costs reached euro-era highs, bringing closer the prospect of another sovereign bailout. France too faced higher borrowing costs, as investors demanded a greater return to put money into any sovereigns perceived as potentially “at risk”. The embattled Spanish government, which faces a general [...]
Monti’s cabinet wins vote on talk of austerity and fairness November 17, 2011 ITALIAN Prime Minister Mario Monti comfortably won a vote of confidence in his new government yesterday, after promising rigour and fairness in painful reforms to dig the country out of a financial crisis that threatens the entire Eurozone. As violent protests erupted in Rome and Milan, Monti said he would target tax evasion, education reform [...]
Central banks rush back to gold as demand hits 15 month high November 17, 2011 DEMAND for gold spiked to a 15 month high in the third quarter of the year, boosted by central banks rushing to stock up on the precious metal. Central bank net purchases in the three months to September amounted to a staggering 148.4 tonnes, although the identity of the buyers was not revealed by the [...]
MEGA-BRAND ADDS BANKING TO ITS WIDE RANGING INTERESTS November 17, 2011 VIRGIN MONEY With the purchase of 74 Northern Rock branches, the Virgin Money brand has just got a whole lot bigger. It already has a banking licence, having purchased Church House Trust, a tiny bank, in January 2010. It offers credit cards in conjunction with MBNA; mortgages in a joint venture with RBS-backed The One [...]
MEET THE ADVISERS November 17, 2011 TADHG FLOOD AND JAMES ARCULUS DEUTSCHE BANK ITS latest mandate advising UK Financial Investments and Northern Rock on the bank’s sale to Virgin Money is one in a string of government deals secured by Deutsche Bank. Most notably, Deutsche made hay advising HM Treasury during the bail-outs of Lloyds, Halifax Bank of Scotland and RBS in [...]
NBNK loses out to rival Virgin November 17, 2011 NBNK Investments missed out on its secondary acquisition target yesterday, losing out to Virgin on Northern Rock. But it is still in the process of trying to buy 632 Lloyds branches and the UK business of National Australia Bank. The outcome prompted questions about where NBNK will find the market share it needs to satisfy the [...]
UK taxpayers swallow a loss on Rock sale November 17, 2011 THE GOVERNMENT accepted a loss of at least £400m yesterday as it offloaded the bailed-out lender Northern Rock for just over half of the cash it originally put into the bank. Virgin Money paid £747m in cash for the Rock, but promised that it would give the Treasury up to £280m more if it manages [...]
